Outdoor Play Is Best Way for Kids to Resist Obesity

There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the growing number in this nation who are obese. Restaurants, particularly fast-food ones, are under attack for the quantities they serve, and schools are criticized for the foods sold in vending machines.

The risk of all sorts of diseases as a result of obesity is increasing at an alarming rate. As a society, we have become whiners who seem to think that it is someone else’s fault that we are overweight and unhealthy.

I look at kids today and it is no wonder that we are fostering a nation of fat children. Whatever happened to hopscotch, dodge ball and tetherball? It was a given when I was a child that you spent weekends riding bikes, playing hopscotch, engaging in an activity that involved a ball, exploring open land and hills on foot. During the week, you fought with your parents over homework because you wanted to go outside and play.

Today’s children, except for those who are involved in sports, seem to prefer watching television, playing computer games, instant-messaging friends, surfing the Internet. Sitting for hours at coffeehouses has taken over as the preferred pastime.

My daughter has four children (so far thin), and because she and my son-in-law live a rather frugal life, the result is lots of time at the park. I remember my park days vividly. The picnic was a pretty regular activity. I realize that part of that was because we lived a simple life also. Maybe the key to getting outside is fewer toys inside.

Budget cuts have probably resulted in less substantive physical education programs in schools. And it appears that adults are spending as much time indoors as their kids.

We need to play outside again. If I had children today, my rules would include mandatory two hours of outdoor play each day (more on weekends). In fact, part of their allowances would be based on not only the chores they accomplished but how much “fun” physical activity was actually exerted that week. It would be cheaper for me to pay my children to move their bodies and a ball than to pay for the countless medical bills I would endure because my kids had become obese, diabetic and possible candidates for heart trouble.

Physical outdoor activity can contribute to healthy bodies and a good attitude. I agree that children need to eat less and healthier, but perhaps if they spent more time kicking a ball, riding a bike, jumping rope or simply playing hopscotch, there would be less need to sit and pack in a super-sized anything.

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Marlene Carney lives in La Verne.